Mas Swine Flu: New Zealand, Spain, Gustavo Arellano?

Yesterday, regarding the swine flu, President Barack Obama declared the United States in a state of emergency, thus making the disease real to millions of Americans who think of Mexico as Spring Break. Reports of cases all over the world began to roll in with half a dozen “mild cases” reported in Nova Scotia and British Columbia and ten “likely” new cases reported in New Zealand. Some students from a high school there called Rangitoto College were visiting Mexico City and got hit with the virus. The rest have been quarantined. We just have to take this moment to point out that Rangitoto College has this kid as the first thing you see when you go to their website:

Is that some Degrassi High/Disney Channel shit or what? Here’s hoping he’s not the one with the swine flu, his little hairs drooping low. Ni lo manda dios.

Spain has confirmed what they’re calling the first European case of the bug in the Southeastern province of Albecete. (Although more reports come in constantly via Google maps, we’re not sure how regulated that is.) A 23 year-old man who recently returned from Mexico has been hospitalized and another 20 Spaniards are under observation and under suspicion of having contracted the virus. The infected man is said to be responding well to treatment. Which is an important thing to stress. So far everyone outside Mexico who has been diagnosed with Swine flu has been treatable.

Over in California where they’ve closed schools, Latino journarati are checking in about their health status via Los Angeles journalist Daniel Hernadez’s website. Daniel himself (who’s actually in Mexico City), reports having had terrible flu-like symptoms in March as well as Tex[t]-Mex blogger and San Diego State English Department Chair Bill Nericcio and, presently, Ask A Mexican’s Gustavo Arellano says:

Got a headache, sniffles, and body aches. Am treating with chicken pho for the meanwhile…

We bothered to look up whether having gotten the flu vaccine last year would be saving your ass about now. The short answer is no and yes. What the Associated Press reports is that, while it probably won’t protect you from contracting the swine flu, it will ward against contracting the seasonal flu and that will keep the swine flu from mixing with the seasonal flu and creating a potential pandemic strain.

We also spoke to former Machochip editor, current Citizen Of The World Inc. blogger Alejandro De La Cruz on the ground in Mexico City (well actually, he’s probably in the air about now) and learned that at International Airport only about six out of every ten people are wearing masks and all you have to do to fly out of that city is sign a piece of paper saying you’re not sick. Also, they took away his hand sanitizer.

Meanwhile, back in Mexico City, the suspected epicenter of the disease has declared 103 deaths from swine flu, but only 18 of them were confirmed by lab tests and reported as such to the World Health Organization. The city is thinking of shutting down the metro and, perhaps most telling, soccer games are being played before empty stadiums. And in New York City, one school has been closed after 8 cases were confirmed there this weekend in Queens.

“We don’t have great information yet,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, interim deputy director for science and public health at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. “There have been no deaths in the United States so far — I do fear that we will have deaths here.”

And on the U.S.-Mexico border, where all the cool cats live, the Centers for Disease Control has started screening for swine flu.

Flu Fears Spark Global Triage [WSJ]
Swine flu concerns spread [UPI]